Video cameras being considered to crack down on the illegal passage of stopped school buses

A North Colonie Central School District bus travels down Swatling Road in the Town of Colonie Tuesday morning.
Mike McMahon - The Record

ALBANY >> State legislators are discussing a bill which proposes a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 180 days of imprisonment for drivers who fail to obey school bus stop signs. Officials claim that approximately 50,000 people across the state ignore the signs every day.

Currently, it is up to a school bus driver to report the license plate number of a driver who illegally passes the bus while the stop sign on the side of the vehicle is activated.

Officials with the New York Association for Pupil Transportation went to the state Capitol Tuesday in support of the bill, S.5028A, which would strengthen the state’s capacity to utilize camera technology for the stop sign arms on buses. The cameras not only have the ability to record the license plate of an offender, but some cameras can also capture both the profile of the driver and the vehicle from various angle. This bill is being sponsored in the state Senate by Catharine Young, whose district is outside Buffalo.

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Although the bill is more than one year old, it was not voted on during the last state legislative session. During a lobbying day on Tuesday, NYAPT leaders said they hoped to talk with elected officials about the bill so it would go through the transportation committee and go up for a vote this session.

The bill would not only authorize the installation of video recording devices on school buses either on or near the stop sign arm, but also allow images collected by the cameras to be used in prosecuting individuals who illegally pass the school buses.

The Coxsackie-Athens school district already has eight buses equipped with the cameras. However, the images they currently collect can only be used for depositions. The bus driver still has to identify the license plate number as well, said Theodore Nugent, the district’s transportation director.

“Even if the cameras stop just one driver, that is keeping one child safe,” he said in the Legislative Office Building following a press conference with Young.

He said, according to statistics gathered from school bus driver surveys around the state, about 50,000 drivers pass school buses illegally every day while the stop sign arm is extended.

While installing the camera technology to a school bus stop sign is expected to cost an additional $200 to $400 per arm, officials at Tuesday’s event said the work could be eligible for state aid.

Penalties for violations include: $250 to $400, 5 points, and up to 30 days imprisonment for a first offense; $600 to $750, 5 points, and up to 180 days imprisonment for a second offense; and $750 to $1,000, 5 points, and up to 180 days for a third offense.

Nugent said he was uncertain about when a vote might be held regarding the bus cameras. He said it would depend when the bill left the transportation committee discussions.

Also being discussed is a bill (A.6385 and S5122 ) that would enhance the severity of the boarding a bus, creating the crimes of Criminal Trespass on a School Bus in the first and second degrees. This would apply to those who board school buses without authority and with illegal intentions, including harming the driver or passengers.

“The yellow school bus is an icon of safety for our children and across our society,” said NYAPT Executive Director Peter Mannella. “We need to identify ways in which we can improve safety on our school buses and ways in which we can respond to and prevent such violent incidents.”